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Thursday, 27 December 2012

The carnage of Christmas

The carnage of Christmas
26 December 2012

The wrapping has been shredded.The new toys have been christened.Computer games have been installed.Batteries have been inserted.The fabulous meal has been eaten.Champagne and grape juicehave been consumed.Crackers have been cracked.Gifts have been admired.Wishes have been shared.Dishes have been done.Best cutlery and crockery packed away
again.Rooms littered with new toys and
gadgets.All the candles blown out.

And so another Christmas draws to a close.And when we all go to bed tonight, everyone
will say “This was the best Christmas ever!!!”.This is my goal every year.And somehow
or other, this very statement is true every single year.Like a self-proclaiming prophecy that truly
comes to pass.

It’s not really about the gifts, though they are the kids’
favourites – predictably.It’s not
really about the meal either – though that is a really good bit too.And nor is it about the house beautifully
decorated – my bestest!.Or the festive
cheer.Rather, it’s a combination of it
all.Any of these things in isolation,
though nice, don’t make up the whole.The
sum being greater than the parts when added up.Exponential joy if you like.

But now, the very, very best bit has really arrived.The festivities just keep on going.We are at Kleinbaai.My favourite place in the whole wide world.And in what fine fashion the festivities have
continued.A sit down meal for 26 of our
very closest family members.Gammons,
legs of lamb, roast chickens and all of the trimmings.Ouma Helene’s golden jelly in champagne
glasses (it’s her Christmas thing), crackers, nuts and choccies on the
tables.Beautiful Xmas table cloths,
mismatched crockery and cutlery because we’re at the holiday house after all
and just make do with what we’ve got.Ouma’s
Christmas decorations all set up (I haven’t got my own laptop here, hence I am
unable to download lots of pics and post them), and a general air of “Merry
Christmas” all around.

Speeches by Oupa Willem.Toasts to those far away.If we
were all together we’d have been 40 bodies in total.As is, we didn’t have a big enough table and
rather dotted the lounge with little tables everywhere.I felt a bit like a cruise photographer,
going from table to table, saying things like “Right, table three – everyone please
smile for a photo”.Masses of puddings
once the main meal was done.

And then just for fun, we all traipsed out to the back garden
and took family photos.Everyone setting
up tripods and placing their camera’s randomly to try and take a timed shot of
the entire clan.A big wide angle lens
is needed.And then for some or other
reason, we noticed that some of the boys were wearing sleeveless shirts, which
spontaneously prompted masses of pics of all of the boys wearing “wife-beater-shirts”.Being the sport that he is, Oupa Willem gave
up on wearing a shirt at all.And for
those “unlucky” few that didn’t have wife-beaters, they resorted to rolling up
their sleeves.Such fun and I’ll be sure
to post pics soon.

For now, we’re sitting on the stoep admiring the view.Lots and lots of going down to the rocks and
everyone exploring.Today the kids went
on kayaks and caught little “klipvissies”.Hunting for octopus, throwing of stones, walks along the water, a fireworks
attempt after dark, guitar playing, pitching of tents, swimming for the
extremely brave, a midnight walk to the harbour.

I’ve got two nights here with the family and I can hardly
wait, yet at the same time, I want to stretch out every minute.The mood will be jovial.The kids will go exploring some more.We’ll vie and make turns for a spot on the
hammock with the magnificent view of the sea.The rocks and sea will never lose its allure and drawing power.We’ll go for more walks.Eat way too much.Relax and lounge.Indulge in lots of laughing.

In short we’ll create magic and memories in equal
portions.This is the home of my heart
and where a part of my soul lives.It’s
were we strew my dad’s ashes in the sea and I sent him a message of love in a
bottle that I tossed out to sea.

It’s been a part of my
life as long as I can remember.Bricks, mortar, cement – yet a comforting
constant.Always there.I love the smells, the sights and the sounds.But mostly the people who share it with
me.One and all.Viva Lombards!Viva!